Best Bluetooth speaker 2024

Bluetooth speakers have become essential for listening to whatever audio content you like, wherever you want to hear it. That can be playing your favorite tunes at home with a local scene or abroad on a camping trip, by the poolside, or at the beach. You can set a vibe anywhere with a handy portable speaker.

There are countless options available out there in every imaginable shape, form, and size, so it can be a challenge to settle on a single Bluetooth speaker. But you're in luck because we've spent endless time testing, researching, and jamming to find the very best Bluetooth speakers in every category, and at every price point.

The overall best Bluetooth speaker for anyone and everyone is the Ultimate Ears Boom 3. It features amazing sound quality, extreme portability, great battery, solid build quality, and excellent water resistance. What's more, it can be had at a very reasonable price. The Boom 3 has just about everything you could want in a speaker, and although it launched a few years ago, its feature set and sound quality remain unmatched for the price.

At a glance

Best overall

Ultimate Ears sets the industry standard, showing others how it's done. The Ultimate Ears Boom 3 is living, breathing proof that speakers don't have to be expensive to be good. The Boom 3 sports omnidirectional output that can fill any spacious room with booming sound that refuses to crack. It's excellent for just about every type of music, from pop to rock to classical.

You'll be impressed by the Ultimate Ears Boom 3's rugged build quality and IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. The fabric is tough, there's a built-in strap, and the outdoor speaker can absorb an impressive level of shock. Oh, and did we mention that it actually floats in pools?

The Boom 3 has UE's PARTYUP stereo pairing feature that lets you sync up to 150 other Boom 3, Megaboom 3 and Hyperboom speakers together. Now that's what you call a party! You can manage your speaker with the Ultimate Ears companion app on your phone if you want.

This spunky Bluetooth speaker comes in multiple flashy colors and has a great 15-hour battery life. UE sells a proprietary wireless charging dock separately to go with the Boom 3. If you really want to make it your own, you can create your personalized UE Boom 3 via the My Boom 3 studio feature.

Overall, this is the best portable Bluetooth speaker for all kinds of users. It may have an outdated micro-USB port, but the Ultimate Ears Boom 3 touts impressive value for something of its size and with a sub-$150 price tag.

Best premium pick

The Sony SRS-XG300 is a cross between a boombox and high-end speaker designed for pretty varied and robust use cases. IP67 protection puts this right at home indoors or outdoors, though you may need to rinse the sand from the beach out of the fabric cover to keep it clean. The built-in handle is super convenient, especially considering it slides in flat to go flush with the rest of the speaker when you don't need it. Throw in the slick LED lights along the passive radiators on each side and you have a nice aesthetic to go with the excellent sound. With Sony's LDAC codec support on board, you can enjoy hi-res audio from sources who support it.

The XG300 can get loud when you need it, and Sony lets you control sound through its Connect app — albeit with a strange limit of just one custom EQ setting at a time. Clarity is impressive most of the time, making this ideal no matter if you're listening to something solo or entertaining a small crowd. You can even use it as a speaker for phone calls courtesy of the onboard mic, which also enables you to use your preferred voice assistant on your phone. 

Battery life can last up to 25 hours per charge depending on volume levels and other factors, like if the lights are on or not. 

Best budget

The Tribit XSound Mega is an excellent budget speaker with long-lasting battery life, vibrant dynamic RGB lighting, and IPX7-rated water resistance, all of which make it one of the best Bluetooth speakers under $100. This portable powerhouse has up to 20 hours of battery life and an impressive range of up to 98 feet, so you don't have to keep it close to you or your smartphone to keep the tunes blasting.

The beastly RGB Bluetooth speaker contains a 30W full-range titanium driver, along with Texas Instruments amplifier modules and audio processing technology. Tribit's proprietary Xbass technology makes everything better, delivering booming sound at the push of a button. The speaker even has an integrated shoulder strap for carrying it around, as well a rubber flap covering the AUX in, USB-A, and USB-C ports to keep everything waterproof. If you're on a tight budget, it's hard to go wrong with the Tribit XSound Mega.

Best rugged

JBL is another instantly recognizable name in portable audio, and the Charge 5 is its latest large, bulky speaker with deep bass and 20 hours of battery life. Its namesake feature is its ability to share that battery — the Charge 5 has a USB-A port next to its USB-C charging port that can be used to share power from its 7,500mAh battery to charge your smartphone while you listen to music.

Like many other speakers on this list, the Charge 5 is water-resistant, bearing IP67 certification (so long as you keep the rubber gaskets closed!). If you like singing in the shower, this is the best shower speaker on the market, but it's also handy if you're throwing an all-day pool party or going out in the water during a camping trip. JBL Charge 5 is easily one of your best options as it eliminates the need to buy and carry a separate battery pack.

With IP67 water and dust resistance, JBL Charge 5 is among the toughest Bluetooth speakers available in the market right now.

Best compact

Marshall has long been the favored brand of audiophiles and hardcore music lovers around the world. The best got even better when the Emberton III succeeded the Emberton II. The latest Marshall speaker features the well-known and well-loved signature Marshall sound in a small, portable, and robust little form factor.

It's bold of Marshall to try to one-up the legendary Emberton and Emberton II, but the powers that be have done it again! The Emberton III vastly improves on its predecessor, increasing the range ten times over and bringing you Bluetooth Auracast support. You also get a bigger battery delivering up to 32 hours of playback, a dedicated power button that was previously missing, and a little hook in one corner to attach a strap or carabiner.

This classy-looking Bluetooth speaker uses a Type-C port for charging, so you can use your phone or Chromebook's USB-C cable. It supports fast charging, giving you a whopping six hours of playback from a quick 20-minute charge. Marshall Emberton III pulls all the stops, from perfectly balanced audio to rugged IP67 water and dust resistance.

Best sounding

The original Sonos Move was the company's first Bluetooth speaker, and while a solid start, the Move 2 takes things to a higher level, as we found out in our own review. Some of the key ones are better sound — this time in stereo — in spite of the fact Sonos still won't support hi-res audio codecs for Bluetooth playback (this isn't an issue over Wi-Fi). More resonant highs and mids match solid bass response for a nicely balanced sound profile that should impress fans of all sort of musical genres. 

You lose out on the kind of portability you get from others on this list, as well as Sonos' own Roam speaker, but when it comes to mobility within a home, it's tough to beat the mix you get here. You can even plug in playback devices with wired connections through the (separately sold) USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter. The Sonos app is deep with features, and only continues to get better. Just too bad you still can't get Google Assistant talking through it. At least it's way easier to repair or replace the battery in case anything goes wrong compared to previous Sonos speakers. Sure makes the expensive price tag more palatable.

Best unique

It's not enough to just play music through the JBL Pulse 5, it's that most of its body is made up of a see-through shell revealing an RGB lighting system. The LEDs inside emit solid colors and ambient effects to add a visual element, regardless of whether you're playing any audio or not. You can control it all through the JBL Portable app, where you can choose from a range of options to set a mood or add some ambience wherever you take this Bluetooth speaker. 

The app also features other controls, like an EQ to tweak the sound how you wish. And though the Pulse 5 is a mono speaker by itself, you can pair it with other compatible JBL speakers via the PartyBoost feature to expand the audio to multiple speakers together. This means you can also assign discrete left and right channels for a true stereo setup and bump in audio quality. The speaker has no physical controls, so you'll need to play DJ through the app often, and the outer shell is a magnet for fingerprints and smudges. 

Best boombox

The Soundcore Boom 2 is a boombox with a smaller footprint, yet a booming sound profile that gives you real control over how much bass you truly want. You don't go for this speaker if you're looking for the utmost clarity audiophiles demand, though you won't come away feeling like the Boom 2 sells you short in what it can output. The Soundcore app has an adjustable EQ and wide range of presets to let you decide what kind of sound you're looking for. If you're entertaining a crowd, this thing will be more than loud enough to set the tone.

It has solid IPX7 water resistance — including the ability to float. Just be wary of sand if you take to the beach or park because there's no dust resistance. While you can use it as a speaker for phone calls, plus charge other portable devices from its own USB port, you don't have an Aux-In to play tunes the old school way. Also, the RGB lights covering the passive radiators on the side are cool, only you have to use the app to make any changes to them. 

Best to party

If it's a party you're after, you won't go wrong throwing one with the Soundboks Go handling the music. This 20-pound speaker is monstrous in comparison to other Bluetooth speakers but that's partly the point. So much of what it can do is performative, meaning it can hit up to 121 decibels at its maximum output under the Bass+ setting. That's more than enough in most settings, and despite this speaker going up to 11 in volume, it plays with the kind of clarity you might not expect at most volume levels. Even DJs looking for a bigger audio presence in a relatively smaller physical footprint might like what this thing can do.

You can tailor the sound to varying degrees through the Soundboks app, as well as pair up to five Go speakers together to really take things up a notch. As loud as it gets, there is an Indoor mode that's well suited to listening to any audio in quieter settings. Battery life is rated at up to 40 hours at default volume, whittling down to about 10 hours at the loudest volumes. 

• Back to the top ^

There's no shortage of great portable Bluetooth speakers

When it comes to the best Bluetooth speakers, you need to consider a few features in your product such as battery life, sound quality, and resistance against elements. The portability means you're going to want to take it places that might be dangerous to electronics, so you're going to want a speaker that's built tough.

There's no shortage of Bluetooth speakers to choose from, but if we were buying one, we'd go for the Ultimate Ears Boom 3. The speaker sounds fantastic for what it costs and offers excellent value for your money. While more specialized options put more emphasis on things like longer battery life or better sound, the Boom 3 is the most well-rounded speaker, offering loud, punchy sound, water resistance, as well as excellent battery life.

If you need something a bit more premium, the Sony SRS-XG300 or Sonos Move 2 are fantastic choices that deliver stellar sound quality on the go.

FAQs

This article is meant to serve as a buying guide for the best portable Bluetooth speakers in the market right now at different price points, and for different uses. In addition to all of the information provided above, we know that you may still have a few questions about Bluetooth speakers. Hopefully, we'll be able to address all of them below before telling you why you should buy a Bluetooth speaker in the first place, how to pick the best Bluetooth speaker for you, and what other Bluetooth speaker options are available.

Why should you buy a portable Bluetooth speaker?

The easiest way to upgrade the sound on your phone or tablet is to pair it with a Bluetooth speaker. The standard is ubiquitous, with every phone, tablet, and notebook featuring Bluetooth connectivity. While one or two odd options listed above feature Bluetooth 4.0, the vast majority come with Bluetooth 5.0 or higher. You won't notice any difference when it comes to connecting your phone or tablet to any of the picks we've outlined.

Bluetooth speakers have come a long way in the last decade, with even budget options offering excellent sound quality these days. They're ideal for listening to music or your favorite podcasts at home or near the pool. You don't have to worry about range either, with some of the options mentioned above delivering rock-solid connectivity up to 150 feet. Several on the list go beyond that, with Ultimate Ears and Marshall leading the charge in this particular area.

One of the main reasons for going with a Bluetooth speaker is that most smartphones no longer have headphone jacks. You don't want to use a USB-C headphone adapter and muck around with all those wires. Portability is also a primary factor here, as it's easy to carry most of the picks we've listed above in your bag.

How to pick the best Bluetooth speaker for you

With a seemingly unending selection of Bluetooth speakers, it can be challenging to decide where to start. These devices vary wildly by price, design, feature set, sound quality, and more. Before you decide on a Bluetooth speaker, here are some factors to consider:

1. Indoors or outdoors?

While many of the Bluetooth speakers on this list can function equally well both inside and out, some are tuned to work better in one environment over the other.

For example, the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 6 and Tronsmart T7 are both fantastic additions to your living room or office, but you probably don't want to leave them outside for hours at a time. Alternatively, something like the Ultimate Ears Boom 3 is outstanding for outdoor use, but if you're primarily going to be listening inside, you can probably find better options.

2. Price

Bluetooth speaker pricing runs the gamut from bargain buys to premium audiophile halo products. Generally speaking, the more you spend, the more features you get, and the better the speaker(s) sound(s). But that doesn't mean that you can't find a good balance of features for a good value. True, one of our absolute favorite speakers (of any kind!) is the Bose SoundLink Revolve+ II, but just about any offering from JBL or Marshall should make most ears happy.

3. Size matters

Get your mind out of the gutter; we're talking speaker size here. If you want something portable for a mountain bike ride or your commute, you're not going to want to get anything much larger than the Sony SRS-XB13. However, if you're going to host an epic BBQ or dance party, the much larger Bose SoundLink Revolve+ II or Tribit StormBox Blast might be more fitting.

4. Battery life and charging capacity

If you're taking your Bluetooth speaker away from a steady power source, you want to be sure that it can last the duration you need it to. And you don't want to have to carry a phone, a Bluetooth speaker, AND a battery pack if you don't have to.

Generally speaking, the larger the speaker, the larger the battery, but that's not always the case. Just look at our pick for the toughest speaker, the JBL Charge 5. It tops out at about 20 hours, whereas similarly sized speakers can get 10 to 15 hours more per charge. Then there's the Marshall Emberton III which turns the competition to dust with its 32-hour battery life.